How not to miss the beginning of aggression

Surprise is one of the key principles of the art of war. Its essence is to achieve success through actions that have the effect of surprise for the enemy. The surprise factor in many situations makes it possible to paralyze the enemy's will to resist, disorganize the management of troops and defeat him even with a lack of forces and means.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu replaced the commander of the active army

The Russian Defense Minister again visited the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine. Sergei Shoigu inspected the headquarters of the Vostok group of forces and heard the report of the commander of the group, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov. This was reported in the morning of January 17 in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

The number and geography of military districts is changing

The speech of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on December 21, 2022 at the board of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, apparently, can be considered the beginning of the next – it's hard to say which one in a row – military reform in the country.

On January 18, 2023, the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom issued a contract worth 1.6 billion pounds to the consortium Team Resolute, which includes the British companies VMT and Harland & Wolff and the British branch of the Spanish shipbuilding association Navantia (Navantia UK), for the construction of three new integrated supply ships for the British Navy under the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) program.

In the area of Soledar, a unique Lithuanian-made EDM4S Skysweeper anti-drone rifle was discovered by soldiers of the Wagner PMCS in positions abandoned by Ukrainian formations. The Telegram channel WarGonzo writes about this.

The French government is considering the possibility of supplying Leclerc tanks to the Kiev regime. Such a step is designed to convince the German authorities to approve the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Military observer Hodarenok named the features of the Leclerc tank, which can receive the APU

France is discussing the transfer of its Leclerc main battle tanks to the APU. A decision has not yet been made, Politico reports, but Paris does not intend to consult either the United States or Germany. "Newspaper.Ru" figured out what are the advantages of French tanks and what are the differences from domestic T-90.

Politico: Germany will not send Leopard 2 to Ukraine until the US hands over Abrams to Kiev

Germany may agree to Poland and Finland sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, writes Politico. But Berlin itself will not do this until Washington hands over M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev. Chancellor Scholz hinted at this in Davos.

We talk about the supply of new Western armored vehicles to Ukraine

The UK will transfer 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine in the coming weeks, and will also significantly strengthen its diplomatic activity in the world in order to increase the supply of weapons to Kiev from the allies. This is stated in the published UK strategy for Ukraine. Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Warsaw will transfer a company of Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of the support of the international coalition.

With pomp, in the presence of the King and the Prime Minister, Sweden "opened" a new spaceport - nominally the first in the continental part of Europe. The quotes are not accidental: too many nuances should be accepted to recognize it as both the first and the cosmodrome.

The Commander-in-Chief of NATO forces in Europe, Christopher Cavoli, called for taking into account non-state players "who play a significant role, for example in space"

The conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated the key role of the information and space dimensions of the fighting. This was stated on Thursday by the Supreme Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe Christopher Cavoli at a press conference in Brussels following a two-day meeting of the chiefs of the alliance's general staffs and partner countries, including Ukraine.

The Egyptian state-owned company Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) has confirmed the signing of an agreement with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the licensed production of training aircraft in the country.

As reported by the South Korean defense procurement agency Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), on January 15, 2023, it signed memoranda of understanding with the State Fund for Defense and Security Development of the United Arab Emirates Tawazun Council on strategic cooperation in the field of defense industry and on the UAE's accession to the implementation of the South Korean aircraft corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) program to create a promising multi-purpose medium military transport aircraft MS-X.

One of the aircraft that was included in the program of a record renewal of the Russian fleet until 2030 was the Tu-214. The aircraft is manufactured at the S.P. Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Plant, a branch of PJSC Tupolev (part of the Rostec United Aircraft Corporation). We are figuring out how the "two hundred and fourteenth" will help domestic air carriers to wait for the mass release of the MS-21 and SSJ-NEW.

According to experts, in the event of an armed conflict around the island of Taiwan, the consequences, including for the EU countries, will be more catastrophic than those caused by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This is due to the fact that China's economic influence on Western countries is more significant than Russian and Ukrainian influence.

"Politics": Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe will not mean recognition of its independence

Now that 18 states have already withdrawn their recognition of Kosovo's independence, its entry into the UN even as an observer has become even more complicated, writes Politika. And gaining membership through the UN Security Council is almost impossible because of the position of China and Russia. In Pristina and Washington, they became worried.

On January 15, 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Estonia announced the appointment of Major General Veiko-Vello Palm to the post of commander of the newly formed division of the Estonian Defense Forces. Major General Palm has been Deputy Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces since June 2021, and before that he was Chief of the General Staff of the Defense Forces in 2018-2021.

Politician Shalamanov: Bulgaria has a lot of weapons unnecessary for NATO and a desire to help Kiev

Bulgaria's military assistance to Kiev became possible thanks to the allies, ex-Defense Minister Velizar Shalamanov said on Bulgaria ON AIR. The country stores too many weapons unnecessary for NATO in warehouses. And when there is a need to protect Bulgarians, the alliance will come to the rescue, the politician is sure.

It will include "main battle tanks, heavy artillery, air defense systems, ammunition and infantry fighting vehicles"

The Defense Ministers of Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, as well as representatives of Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia have agreed on a new "unprecedented package of gratuitous assistance" with weapons to Ukraine. According to a statement issued on Thursday by the British government following a meeting in Estonia, it will include "main battle tanks, heavy artillery, air defense systems, ammunition and infantry fighting vehicles."

At the same time, Christoph Heusgen noted that arms supplies should be carefully weighed

Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Christoph Heusgen believes that Germany, being a contender for the role of a leading power, should play the role of a leader in the supply of combat tanks to Ukraine. He expressed this opinion on Thursday to the DPA news agency on the eve of a meeting of the heads of the Defense Ministry of Western countries at the Ramstein airbase, where further assistance to Kiev will be discussed.